This invention relates in general to portable rescue tools and deals more particularly with an improved power operated rescue tool of the type used to extricate accident victims trapped in wreckage of motor vehicles, aircraft and the like. A typical tool of the aforedescribed general type is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,153 to Hurst for RESCUE TOOL, issued June 25, 1974. Such rescue tools have gained general acceptance and are in wide spread use by fire departments, police departments, paramedic units and others engaged in emergency rescue work. When rendering such life saving assistance it is important to work quickly to remove an accident victim from the wreckage so that necessary emergency medical treatment may be provided as promptly as possible. In many instances where a rescue tool of the aforedescribed type is used to spread wreckage, the tool may interfere with the removal of the accident victim unless it is removed after the wreckage has been opened. Where such condition is encountered, precious life saving time may be lost in dismantling the tool. Such a condition may be encountered, for example, where a rescue tool is used to spread the damaged window frame of a wrecked automobile so that an injured person can be removed through the window opening. Further, the tips of such a rescue tool are generally relatively small being designed to facilitate insertion into a narrow space between damaged parts to be pried or spread apart. The small tips exert extremely high pressure and may tend to cut into or further deform the damaged parts to be separated before effecting any appreciable movement of the parts. It may be necessary to reposition the tool several times to attain sufficient purchase to effect spreading of the parts. The aforedescribed condition is often encountered when moving a seat in a damaged motor vehicle, since the seat material lacks the necessary integrity to resist a concentrated applied force and has relatively small frame surface areas against which the reactive force of the tool may be applied. A similar problem may be encountered in raising the collapsed dashboard of a wrecked motor vehicle. The force arms of the tool must generally apply opposing force between the floor of the vehicle, which is made from relatively thin sheet metal, and the dashboard, which may be made from plastic or other light material easily penetrated by application of high force concentrated in a relatively small area. Still another problem may be encountered in raising the collapsed steering column of a motor vehicle due to difficulty in positioning the rescue tool so that the tip of one of the force arms grippingly engages the steering column without sliding. All of the aforedescribed problems add appreciably to the time required to effect rescue. The present invention is concerned with these problems.